Country United States Commission date Phase I: 2009 Nameplate capacity Phase I: 25 MW | Status Phase I operating Owner(s) BP Wind Energy Units operational 10 | |
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Location Hand County, South Dakota | ||
The Titan Wind Project is 25MW wind farm with a proposed expansion to 5,050 MW, formerly known as Rolling Thunder, based in South Dakota. The project developers, Clipper Windpower and BP Alternative Energy, expect to build Titan in several phases and, when completed, it will be one of the largest wind farms in the world.
Contents
The complete wind farm would use up to 2,020 of Clipper's Liberty 2.5 MW wind turbines. However, this is unlikely, as Clipper Windpower has since ceased production of wind turbines due to financial problems.
Production
Operating at full capacity, the project would be able to supply the electricity for 100% of the households in the state several times over. South Dakota's entire electricity consumption in 2005 was 9.811 TWh. At an assumed capacity factor of 40% (roughly what is currently observed in windy South Dakota), a 5.05 GW nameplate capacity would correspond to an annual generation of:
(5.05 GW) × (0.40) × (365 days/year) × (24 hours/day) × (1 TWh/1000 GWh) = 17.7 TWh
Phase I
Construction of phase I began in 2009 on a 7,500-acre (3,000 ha) site in Hand County in the Ree Hills south of Ree Heights. The project was complete by the end of the year. Phase I consists of 10 Liberty C89 2.5 MW wind turbines for a combined nameplate capacity of 25 MW. Northwestern Energy has a long-term power purchase agreement.
Renewable Energy Objective
In 2008, the South Dakota legislature passed a Renewable Energy Objective. The bill is mostly a symbolic gesture, as it's not a mandate, only an objective. Furthermore, the objective is only 10% by 2015. Considering that hydroelectric dams already produce about 45% of the state's electricity, that objective will likely be met.